Coronavirus: Beijing offers Chinese nationals in Singapore face masks and support amid crisis

The Chinese embassy has reached out to its citizens - from students to members of business groups - to assuage concerns as infections in the city-state spike

Analysts say Chinese missions elsewhere are doing the same thing as Beijing defends its ‘drastic’ measures taken on the mainland to stem the Covid-19 outbreak

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A man wearing a face mask walks past a mural in Chinatown in Singapore. The Chinese embassy has intensified its outreach campaign to citizens currently in the city state. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 9 Apr 2020Updated: 11:29pm, 9 Apr 2020

For Chinese national Didi, the most important lesson that living abroad has taught him is to love his home country even more.

This was the message the 21-year-old student posted on popular Chinese microblogging site Weibo last week, accompanied with images of him collecting surgical masks from the Chinese embassy in Singapore.

“Going abroad has taught us patriotism. At this moment when the global supply of masks is low, only our country is showing that it cares about our compatriots abroad. I am proud of my motherland,” he said.

“Today, I really felt what the Chinese foreign affairs ministry has been saying, that the motherland will always be a strong backing for us and are always behind us.”

People walk along Marina Bay in Singapore. Photo: AFP

As the number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore climbs, the Chinese embassy has increased its outreach efforts in recent weeks, engaging with Chinese nationals living in the city state – from students to business federations – to assuage their concerns and distribute protective supplies, including face masks.

Globally, the number of infections has exceeded 1.4 million, and the pneumonia-like coronavirus has killed more than 88,000. There are 1,623 infections in Singapore, of which 406 have recovered and seven have died.